Just Coffee
by EchoGalen
Summary: Copdoc coffee shop AU.
1. Just Coffee

Lauren Lewis had been on a double shift at the quaint little coffee shop on campus, and she was ready for a the small clock that sat mounted above the wall, she saw she only had five more minutes left, and took off her apron. There was no one there and she was sure no one would care if she closed up shop five minutes early. Just as she got her apron off, however, a soft jingle came from the bell above the door and Lauren groaned internally as she put the apron back on.

Looking towards the door Lauren had to bite down another groan of dissatisfaction as a light blonde came sauntering in. She had been in the shop more times than Lauren could count and she briefly remembered her name to be Tam-something. Tam was the only thing she wrote on the cup she brewed her double cappuccino in, and Lauren didn't care to know the blonde's name- or at least she kept telling herself.

"Hey, doc," the girl said, coming up and sitting on the bar stool.

Lauren sighed and said, "I only have three years under my belt. I'm not a doctor yet."

"You say that every time I come in here," Tam said as she smirked. "I'm never going to stop calling you doc, okay doc?"

"Fine, do you want your usual?" Lauren wasn't being civil, she knew, but she had had a long day and she wanted to get off her feet.

Tam saw it and without a quip of any kind she simply said, "Yes, puhlease." The woman, Lauren thought she said something about practicing criminology to become a detective, watched as she made the double cappuccino. Melting the chocolate into the container first, she put the milk and cream on it, and gently swirled it around. Taking out the stick she used to stir it, she was surprised when Tam said, "Hey, let me have that."

Lauren turned and asked, "Have what?"

"The stick."

"Oh, um, here," Lauren said, giving the small stirring stick to the girl. She said her thanks quickly and slurped up the almost dripping liquid off the item. Lauren quickly turned, for fear her heated cheeks would be a dead giveaway of her imagination, and finished Tam's coffee order.

"Hey, I don't need a lid," Tam said, looking over Lauren's shoulders just as she took a lid off the holder.

Looking over her shoulder, Lauren said, "We closed two minutes ago."

"And?…"

"And," Lauren said a little flustered, "I'm tired and I would like to go back to my dorm."

"What building?" Tam got off her stool after Lauren gave her her order and was looking back towards the blonde for an answer.

"It's… B13."

"Shit, doc. That's my dorm too."

_You've got to be joking._ "Really?"

"Yep. I'll walk you home so the big baddies that come out at night won't get you," Tam said with a chuckle.

Lauren blushed again and took off her apron. Telling the girl she'd be right back, she quickly went into the back and got the keys and her bag. Checking her hair in the mirror, she saw she looked decent and walked out of the room after turning off the lights. Lauren smiled and looked down at the keys in her hand as she walked out of the coffee shop, Tam by her side. After closing the door and locking it, Lauren turned and the two women began walking towards their dorm.

They talked of everything as they walked: Tamsin's- Lauren had learned the girl's full name finally- journey into wanting to become a detective. Lauren's journey to wanting to become a doctor. Their friend's and what they thought. How much Lauren loved nature and camping, and how much Tamsin hated it with every fiber of her being. The blondes laughed heartily as they walked together, and when they finally got to the dorm and inside, their eyes shown how much they did not want to leave the other. Lauren had never realized she could genuinely have so much in common with Tamsin, and she wondered if the lighter blonde thought the same.

"This is, um, my room," Lauren said as they walked the long hallways.

"Oh shit, right. It was really nice talking with you."

"Could we… I don't know, do this again sometime?"

Tamsin smiled and said, "Absolutely," before leaning down and kissing Lauren lightly on the cheek. If Lauren had been braver, she would have brought the blonde in for a kiss on the lips, but she would save that for the second date.

Lauren blushed as she even thought that she was going on a date, and she watched Tamsin saunter away as she opened her door. Pushing it closed with her back, Lauren brought her thumb to her teeth and bit down gently.

She was going on a date…


	2. The Date

"Whoa, hair done up, jeans and a tight white shirt with a pink cardigan; someone's sure caught your fancy," Lauren's best friend Ciara said with a laugh in her throat. Ciara had been one of Lauren's med-school friends from the very beginning of the start of college, and she looked over and hushed her quickly, a smile on her own lips.

"Is it too much," she groaned as she asked, trying to figure out if she looked too dressy for just a first date. The blonde kept looking down at her apparel, and moved her bare feet on the wooden ground as she did. She would have to wear heels, she reminded herself, remembering her date's tall stature.

"Well if she likes you she'll probably be a butch-"

Lauren groaned and said, "Really, Ciara?"

"What! It's most likely the truth."

"You've been hanging around your straight friends too much."

Ciara chuckled as she watched Lauren turn to look at her ass in the mirror. "Hey, just calling it as is. Now, as I was saying, if she likes you she's probably a butch, so she won't be overly fancy. So I'd say what you have on now is fine."

"You think?"

"Trust me, Lo, I'm sure you could be wearing a paper bag and you'll still be less overdressed than she's going to be."

Lauren looked over at her friend laying on the bed and sighed. She was probably right. Looking back into the mirror one last time, she scavenged the small room for her heels and clutch purse, which she never used. Turning back to Ciara when she had all of her things sorted, she smiled one last time before her friend gave her the thumbs up sign, and she left the room to head to the first date location.

* * *

Walking slowly into Anders Fish and Chips, Lauren looked around quickly to try to find her companion that she was meeting. When she couldn't find her, her eyes raked the vicinity twice over, she was about to pull out her phone from her bag when a soft hand touched her elbow. Looking up quickly, almost dropping her phone, she saw a smiling, almost laughing, Tamsin standing above her. The heels did nothing, Lauren saw, and she had to try not to blush.

"Easy, dude. It's just me," Tamsin said, laughter filling her words.

"S-sorry." Lauren looked down at her boots to hide her blush.

"I got us a table, doc." The taller woman led Lauren over quickly to a table in the back, away from all the chatter like Lauren would have wanted, and they sat down opposing each other.

After getting their menus, and an array of healthy conversation, Lauren looked up and caught Tamsin looking at her with a smile on her face. Blushing furiously, Lauren raised her menu up above her eyesight a little, and stayed like that for a few moments. When she thought Tamsin would be looking back to her menu, she slowly lowered the laminated folder. Only to see Tamsin flick her eyes up quickly to Lauren's, a smile still on her lips.

"What," Lauren finally asked as she put the menu down, trying to read it over- but not really.

"Oh nothing."

"Come on, you keep staring."

The woman shrugged and leaned in, "Do you really want to know?"

Lauren did the same, "Yes, I really want to know."

"Tough," Tamsin whispered, her smirk playing on her lips again as she leaned back and stared at her menu.

The premed student smiled quickly and looked down at her menu, her hand playing with the lobe of her ear, as she tried not to look back toward the woman opposite her. Finally their waiter came and asked for their orders. Tamsin had looked over at Lauren to begin, such a gentleman, and the blonde gave her order to be the original fish and chips that the place was named after. Tamsin smiled when Lauren was done with her order and told the woman her own would be a burger with fries. Simple and clean.

The waitress left them after bringing over their drinks, Lauren having a sweet tea and Tamsin having root beer, and the two blonde's looked at each other wondering who would begin the conversation.

The two street thugs decided for them.

"Look at what we have here," the boy said, looking at Tamsin like she were the scum beneath his boot. "Looks like we got ourselves an officer of the law."

"Beat it, creeps. I'm not an officer… yet," Tamsin said the last word with so much venom, Lauren had never thought it in the woman.

"As I remember it, you're the one that got us locked up, police rat," the other boy said. He had a strong English accent, much like Ciara's, and his clothes did little to help his appearance like his friend's. They looked like coke addicts, if Lauren was being perfectly honest with herself, and she wondered if that was why Tamsin had busted them on whatever duty she had done. It wasn't unheard of for a rising detective like Tamsin to go and train under a real one. Premed students like Lauren did so all the time with real doctor's, and she wondered if these boys didn't know the difference.

Or they didn't care, Lauren thought slowly as she looked down to see the boy's left hand in his oversized pocket.

"What's this pretty little thing," Thug one said, looking over at Lauren and back at Tamsin. "You a homo or something? Explains why you wouldn't want this big coc-"

Tamsin moved so fast Lauren couldn't follow. One moment she was sitting calmly in the booth opposing the premed student, the next she had her face next to the boy's ear, looking down as she whispered furiously to him.

After she was done, she moved just slightly to stare into his eyes, daring him to continue what he was about to say.

"W-whatever," the boy said, slipping his hand out of his pocket and hitting the arm of Thug two to move toward the door. They were gone in seconds.

"Sorry about that," Tamsin sighed, sitting back into the booth and looking at Lauren with a smile on her lips. "So. Where were we?"

* * *

The women walked back to Lauren's room after the night descended and they had been walking around campus again. Tamsin had not acted any differently after sending the punks away and Lauren had to stop herself from asking into it. Tamsin would tell her in her own time, she'd like to think, and when the woman had not said anything, Lauren took it as a sign. Still, the thought was still aching at the back of her mind the entire time they walked and laughed together.

"Sorry about that little spat at the restaurant. Won't happen again, I promise and stuff."

Lauren smiled up at Tamsin and said, "It's okay. I'm just happy no one was hurt. I wouldn't want to put my medical knowledge to work on you."

"Why is that," Tamsin whispered, coming in just a little closer, tickling Lauren's ears with her breath.

"Because," Lauren also whispered, "I actually like you. And working on someone you like is ten times harder, I hear."

Tamsin chuckled and nipped the blonde's ear slightly. It sent a shiver down Lauren's back and she tried not to moan. Placing her left hand onto the side of Tamsin's stomach and her right on her neck, she waited for Tamsin to continue to nibble down her neck.

"Hey-oh," Ciara yelled coming out of her dorm room after hearing Lauren was back. She quickly backtracked as she saw Tamsin slowly disengage from Lauren's neck and look at her with surprise, how much surprise Tamsin could muster that is, and Lauren glared daggers at her friend. "Oh… sorry… I didn't, yeah."

When she didn't leave Lauren sighed and said, "Ciara, Tamsin. Tamsin, Ciara."

"Pleasure," Ciara said, waving her hand.

"All mine," Tamsin breathed slowly and right on cue. Looking down at Lauren she smiled and said, "I'll talk to you later then." She bent down just slightly and kissed Lauren on the cheek again before she left.

Lauren watched as the taller woman sauntered away and sighed as she looked back towards Ciara.

"I want all the details," the Englishwoman squealed as she pulled Lauren into the room with her and shut the door.

* * *

Tamsin had been walking back to her room, she had found it was in the same building but not on the same floor, and she had gone into the resounding tiled stairway when it happened. The hairs on her neck pricked up, and she heard someone behind her, right outside the door she had just passed. Turning slightly, not fast enough, she was too slow when someone came from the doorway of the fourth floor, a shining object in their hand. The assailant had a partner, she found, as when she turned her arms were quickly pinned behind her from behind.

She hadn't noticed anyone coming from behind her, and she watched helplessly as the first assailant's knife came increasingly close to her lower stomach. Kicking her leg out quickly, she heard the first assailant's knee crack with the pressure from her kick, and they grunted, a male grunt by the sound of it. She moved her head behind her quickly and her head connected with the second's nose, breaking it instantly, and they released her.

Looking around quickly, Tamsin may have stunned them, but she knew she probably couldn't take them if they went at her again, she took the knife the first assailant dropped, quickly brought her leg around her as the man tried to jump her again, and her leg connected with his and he went down hard again. Quickly looking behind her to see if the broken nosed assailant had gotten up from his shock, he hadn't, Tamsin jumped over the fallen man and opened the door that he had come out of in the first place. Opening it sharply, she heard a satisfying crunch as it swung into his stomach, she got into the hallway of the fourth floor and started to walk.

Before long, however, she decided to run.


	3. News Forecast

"That's it," Ciara squealed as she raised up onto her knees to gain a short burst of height over a half crossed legged Lauren.

The med student pushed her off playfully and said, "Yes, that's it. I told you nothing happened!"

"Oh I so can't believe that. Under that sophisticated persona, you're totally a freak."

"You would know!"

Ciara's features became very sullen but a smile pierced through the facade, "Oh yes, yes, sadly I do." She hit her friend on the shoulder again. "How could you not get a kiss!"

"Well someone happened to interrupt us before I could!"

"..Oh... that." Ciara burst out into laughing along with her long time friend. After their giggling fit was over, the Englishwoman became somewhat somber. "What about those punks in the restaurant?"

Lauren raised an eyebrow and said, "Tamsin didn't really say anything about that. Just that it wouldn't happen again."

"It better not!" Ciara's drawl surfaced, one that made it almost impossible for her to be understood, and only ever came out when she was seriously pissed off. "I mean if she gets you into trouble with hoodlums across the bend, you best believe I'll teach her what for!"

"What for? Ciara, I don't think-"

"Pish-Posh. Did she give you her number?"

Lauren rolled her eyes at how quickly her friend could come down from her annoyance and pondered the question. "No, she didn't. I know she had one, maybe I can go tomorrow and find her at the precinct. Doesn't your boyfriend study under a cop there too?"

"Oh Dyson? I think he does. I could ask him to fill me in with all the juicy details of your little girlfriend since he's in the same class with her."

"Exnay on the spyina," Lauren confirmed, her hands coming up into an X shape. "I'd like to get to know her without the use of spying, thank you. And she's not my girlfriend!"

"Yeah, yeah," Ciara waved her hands in front of her face. "Anyways, I'm beat. I'll see you tomorrow."

The woman got off Lauren's bed and moved to the door, the back of her hand to her agape mouth as she yawned.

"And don't forget to ask Dyson!" Lauren called after her.

A wave in her direction was the only response from Ciara, and Lauren sighed with content. She was happy she had such a great friend like Ciara but she was slightly drained from telling her everything for an hour and a half. She wasn't much of the gossip type but she knew Ciara meant well. Now, Lauren thought, she had better get extra sleep so she could tell her equally, if not more best friend, Bo, of the story she had told Ciara. And she would also have to get the precinct number and the officer Tamsin worked under to try to see her. Briefly she wondered if Bo was also doing the same course, she was studying to be a private eye instead of a full time detective, but there were classes that had to overlap. Maybe she could get the information from Bo instead of going to Dyson...

It dawned on the blonde after she had showered and gotten into bed with only a tank top and panties on, that she had no idea Tamsin's schedule and, for that matter, she had never really seen Tamsin around other than in the coffee shop Lauren worked at. If she did not make the effort to see the tall woman, she might take it as a sign that Lauren didn't want to see her anymore; even if they only had one date.

Lauren played with the bottom of her lip as she thought it over.

Yes, she thought, tomorrow was the day.

* * *

Tomorrow certainly didn't sit well with Tamsin as she forcefully woke up, her arms were screaming from the bruise the assailant caused her and her head throbbed. She covered her eyes with her forearm and tried to calm herself from the nightmare she had been having. It wasn't until something shining invaded her senses did she remember the knife was positioned just where a beam of sunlight filtered into her room and it begged for an audience.

"Fine," Tamsin breathed, getting up from her bed and swinging her legs over the side. Her body was hunched and she looked at the very peculiar knife. "You're not a normal one, are you?"

The knife had a wicked gleam to it and it had incisors on either side, making it easier to tear someone's stomach or throat right open if it got inside. It must have been expensive wherever the thugs had gotten it from, and Tamsin could only guess if she put her fingertip to the top of the blade, it would cut her with only the slightest of pressure.

A shape suddenly appeared in front of her and Tamsin shot her head up in expectation of another attack. Her heart thudded in her chest as she looked up to her roommate and she almost shouted at her.

"Goddamn, woman! What are you trying to do to me?"

The woman's voice was hardened and she pointed at the knife in Tamsin's hands. "What was the rule on weapons in the dorm?"

"Uh," Tamsin groaned as she scratched the nape of her neck, "to not have them here?"

"Uh uh."

"But Bo-o-o-o," Tamsin whined, following her roommate to her bed. "You have knives too."

"Under the bed, Tammy. Not in plain view."

Tamsin shook off the pet-name and said, "Yeah, well I came home late-"

"Yeah, I know."

"-and kinda forgot, okay? Forgive me? Come on, you know you wanna forgive me."

Tamsin flopped down onto her friend's bed and nudged her in the side. Her brown locks smelt good and they were doused as if she had just come back from washing it. Tamsin tried not to notice as she playfully nudged her friend again, her face contorted into hilarity.

"Oh, alright!" Bo sighed, her hands going to the air in mock surrender. "But that's the last time, okay?"

"Sure," Tamsin agreed, getting up and going back to her own bed.

"So," Bo began, her words drawn out as if she was being sly. "How did your date go?"

Tamsin turned after putting the knife down onto her side table and said, "It was awesome. She totally digs me."

Bo scrunched up her nose and said, "Oh, Tammy, rule number one: Never say digs in a sentence if you're not talking about a grave site."

The blonde yelled, "Ha!" before throwing a pillow at her roommate. "Didn't get her number, but I was planning on meeting her tonight."

"You know you never told me her name."

"Oh, Lauren Something-or-Other. She works at the coffee shop on campus."

Bo's face fell and she proclaimed, "Whoa, whoa, blonde? Has her hair in curls?"

"Great body," Tamsin continued as she nodded, "really restrained. Med student."

"Dude, that's my best friend!"

"Get the fuck outta here. No shit?"

"Way shit," Bo agreed. "Well, when they said keep it in the circle, I didn't think they meant so literally."

The two women looked at each other playfully and laughed mirthfully. "You have to tell me all the details!" Bo yelled, throwing back Tamsin's pillow to her.

"Oh come on, I'm not into all that girly sappy stuff."

"She's _my_ best friend." Bo was even more sly as she said, "I'll tell you her likes and dislikes so you can get in better with her."

"Huh... that's true. Or I could just use the resources at the precinct to get the info I need."

"She's never had a record, Tamsin. You wouldn't know where to start."

"...Touche."

Bo settled into her bed, her fists on her cheeks and her ass in the air. "Tell me everything."


	4. Killer Day

"Sup, Twinkle-Toes," Tamsin sang as she walked into the 39th Division. The Homicide Squad room was less than cheery as of late, and her voice rang out louder than she intended. "Sorry," she muttered as multiple pairs of eyes turned her way, and she sat the coffee cup down in front of her partner's moving hands.

"I told you not to call me that," Dyson whispered furiously, looking around slightly to see if anyone overheard.

"What's got your ass in a bind?"

The somber look in Dyson's eyes didn't sit well with Tamsin and he responded, "Murder came in last night. Cay gave me access to the files, but man if he knew what I was looking at-"

"Scootch," Tamsin interrupted as she moved from her mentor's desk over to sit beside Dyson.

She just loved being sneaky.

Transparent green eyes flew across the files Dyson was swiftly going through, and she thanked her comprehension abilities because damn, the man moved quick. She caught on that the murder victim was a girl from campus, her throat was cut and her eyelids removed. She was dressed in a large red cape and the tips of her ears were also cut off. If that wasn't bad enough, her lips were carved off and her teeth were completely visible. She wore brown boots with a old fashion gown underneath and her hair seemed to be dyed brown by the looks of the burns suffered on the flesh just before her hairline; as if the killer had used scolding hot water to first wash her hair, then apply the formula.

"Some freaks twist on Red Riding Hood?" Tamsin guessed.

"That's what they're saying. The Riding Hood Killer, they're callin' him."

"Catchy," responded Tamsin. "Don't they know by giving a killer a name, they're just encouraging him to strike again?"

A strong, scratchy voice came from behind the students and they tried not to jump, "And what the hell do you know about killers, Tammy?"

"Well, Acacia, I don't know squat," Tamsin said immediately, smiling and holding up her hands innocently as she bolted up into a standing position.

Indubitably, she mouthed 'I'll be over here', her fingers pointing to her right, and she quickly moved to the chair sitting by her mentor's at the desk. Peering over the wood expanse, she tried to catch Dyson's eye, but he was too entrapped with Acacia's glare.

"Umm," he said, gulping down the lump in his throat, "I was just... Um..."

"Uh huh," Acacia said, nodding her head. "Scootch."

"Yes, ma'am."

Dyson quickly walked over to the other side of the desk while Acacia took up residence at his own. He crossed his arms before he glared down at Tamsin and nudged her in the side with his elbow.

"Ow-ah!" She whispered furiously, "What was that for?"

"You left me for dead!"

"Oh come on." At this point Tamsin was trying to hold back a laugh. "She wasn't going to eat you or anything."

"Could have fooled me," Dyson whined, his cornflower blue eyes turning back to what his partner's mentor was looking over. "Maybe Cay will finally split us up."

Tamsin fluttered her eyes and said dreamily, "We can only dream, dog breath."

Dyson smirked and nudged his friend again. Remembering something, he leaned in closer and said, "By the way, my girlfriend asked about you."

"What's her name again? No, wait, I got it. Kieren? Kivan? Uh..."

"Ciara-"

"Right, right."

"You knew that."

Tamsin shrugged her shoulders and winked.

"Anyways, she wanted me to tell her your cell number. Also about what your favorite food and things were."

"And do you know what my favorite foods and shit is?"

"That would be a breach of our confidentiality agreement," Dyson replied.

The humor didn't seem to escape Tamsin. "That's my boy!"

"Hey, pipe down over there," Acacia called, making the two class recruits jump.

Shrugging and smiling, the two stayed quite until Dyson's mentor, Cayden, and Acacia filled them in on the details of the rest of their day.

* * *

Two women walked down campus sidewalks and talked languidly and laughingly. One was ash brown, while the other was blonde with brown eyes matching both of them. Their hair flew in the wind with the breeze and they talked and ate ice cream as the day was swelling with heat. The air was not quite humid, but not quite dry, and it filled the womens lungs with its sweet taste.

The form fitting black t-shirt one sported was draped around the woman's arm and the view of the spaghetti strap she wore had all the men, and some women, turning their heads. The blonde next to her was more modest with a white button down shirt that she rolled the sleeves up on. She wasn't hot, but she was not cool, and she thought that was what the ice cream was for.

The women turned down a less lit part of campus, even with the sun's rays shining through, there were still darkening areas, and their laughs at some joke the other had said echoed off of the reverberating walls of the tunnel. They had only just walked into the area, yet for some reason... they felt ill at ease.

Was the tunnel leading to their classes always this long? When had it gotten this dark- hadn't the sun been at his pinnacle only moments before, and even so, where were the lights lining the tunnel?

Is that... breathing?

The girls joyful laughter softened into cautious and slow whimpers as they tried everything in their power to bring back the feeling from only a few moments before. But something was somehow off. Something, like a sixth sense, was telling them they should run out of the darkened tunnel and get back into the sunlight. As long as they're in the sunlight, they would be safe.

It was the blonde who skipped into a fast walk first, her hand in her friend's to not lose her to the darkness. The darker haired woman knew exactly what needed to happen- they should run, run right now as fast as they could, drop the damn ice cream and just run!- but she didn't. She couldn't. Her legs seemed to disobey her as she pushed them into a fast walk. Then faster. Then even faster and she realized that her and her friend were almost at a jog.

No, not a jog. A run.

It was the blonde who tripped first. Her legs had gotten tangled under themselves and she went down hard, smacking the side of her head dangerously onto the cement flooring of the tunnel. If not for her own consciousness, she would have brought her friend down with her, but at the last moment she had let go. She always thought about her friend first. Always.

It was the blonde who tried to scramble up as her friend tried to pull her to her feet. Whimpers were resounding off the wall with every breath they took. But something else was too.

Was that... footsteps?

It was the darker haired woman that felt the air displace around them as someone suddenly cut into a run.

It was she who tried to scream, but something clamped down onto her chest and mouth like a vice, and she felt sudden pain blossom inside her ribcage.

It was the blonde who called out to her friend as she fell over onto the cement, her face blank, her eyes... cold before they closed.

It was the man, who slowly reached down with a cloth in hand, and placed it over the kicking and screaming woman's mouth with a cold, menacing, wicked smile on his own lips.

* * *

"Bo, I cannot do this," Lauren was saying to her best friend as they walked up the sidewalk.

They were drastically nearing the police station off campus and, at the sense of seeing Tamsin at work, maybe even in a uniform- did recruits for class get uniforms?-, it gave Lauren all the right chills. But she didn't think she could go through with it. If not for her brunette friend practically pushing her along, she doubted she would have even made it this far.

"We did not walk all this way for nothing! Come on, whaddya so afraid of?"

"Denial? Complete and encompassing humiliation? Just naming off a few," Lauren said, biting her bottom lip slightly as she looked at the approaching building.

Bo and her had been walking for no more than ten minutes after they had gotten ice cream from to deny the heat swell of the day, and Lauren had filled her friend in on all the details of her date the previous night. Before she could finish, the blonde was so wrapped up in her own story, and trying not to spill the ice cream on herself as they walked, she did not realize Bo was leading her into the direction of the station until they were already out of campus.

"It'll be fi-i-i-ne," Bo sang, eating the last bit of her cone while Lauren was still eating the delicious cream.

"I don't- ow!" Lauren cried as a uniformed man catapulted into her, making her spill her desert on the ground and thankfully not on herself, and into the precinct.

"Hey, Rude-Shit, nice goin'!" Bo yelled after him, uncaring if he was an officer of the law. "Here, I have napkins."

The brunette produced the brown papers and Lauren replied with a meek, "Thanks," before wiping off the excess liquid from her hands. Putting some of the flesh in her mouth, she licked and softly sucked on her hand so it would not become sticky from the binding elements in the cream.

Lauren pointed out the obvious with a little sigh, "Well he was in a hurry."

"Yeah," Bo said absently, "maybe we should see if everything's okay. I don't think it's a good idea if the police are running around..."

Brown eyes matched and feet moved in synch. It was only after they opened the doors inside, that Lauren could not even see the woman she came there for in all of the confusion and bustle of the precinct, that they knew something was seriously, seriously wrong.


	5. Second Meetings

"There was a girl who survived? Why didn't anyone tell me this information thirty minutes ago!" Acacia swept through the lower ranking police officers and snatched the paper that had just been faxed over from the hospital. Her crystal eyes zoomed over the page, accumulating anything of value, before turning her attention to her recruit.

"Tammy, you're coming with me." Eying Dyson and Cayden, she indicated the former and said, "I'm taking the new pup too."

Cayden all but nodded as his attention was encompassed in the computer screen filled with information on the killer. Which, if they were all being solely honest with themselves, was not much information at all.

The two friends glanced at each other before one grabbed their leather coat while the other stood at attention and followed behind the detective. Tamsin had just draped the coat over her shoulders when she saw two familiar faces standing wide eyed and scared at the opening of the precinct. She shook the strange thought off as she saw her friend's hand wrapped around her crush's shoulders and instead, jogged in front of Acacia and to the duo.

"I called Ciara- said she was fine-"

"-can't get a hold of Nadia-"

"What are you doing here," she whispered, unaware of how it really wasn't a whisper, and stepping over the words that were spilling out of the two womens mouths.

"We- I wanted to see you... See where you worked," Lauren responded idly, her eyes still sweeping over the Kill Board and the pictures of the dead girl they had found last night.

Tamsin stepped in front of her to break her line of sight. The darker blonde blinked rapidly before focusing on the tall woman.

"What's going on, Tamsin?" Bo asked.

"There's been a murder..." Should she really be telling civilians this? "And a report came in thirty minutes ago about an attempted murder and an abduction. We're heading over now to the hospital to see if the girl can give us any leads."

"What's her name?" If not for Bo asking the questions, Lauren doubted they would have gotten any information for how her legs shook with shock. A murder? Here?

"It's-"

A strong, harsh voice cut her off and Tamsin had to contain herself from jumping, "Are you really discussing potential witnesses and leads on the case?"

"I know them," Tamsin responded. Boldness really could be ignorance at times.

"And for all you know they could be the killer. Excuse me, ladies." The woman swept by the college students with ease and Dyson eyed Tamsin dangerously.

"You're going to be kicked out of the program!" He said, the back of his hand coming up and down to reiterate his point.

Tamsin waved him off and said, "And if they could help ID the victim?"

The scruffy man just shook his head and gave a sympathetic look in Bo's direction before exiting the precinct.

"Asses the lot of them."

"I-I don't want you to get in trouble." Always the thinker, Lauren.

Tamsin gave a sympathetic look to the blonde and shook her head. Changing the subject might ease tension, she decided. "Maybe I can see you tonight."

"Um..."

"Hey, this is just day time stuff," Tamsin eased.

Lauren closed her eyes and smiled before opening them and reply, "Yeah. Yes. Sure."

"Great, I'll see you at the coffee shop?"

There was a nod before the detective in training bolted out of the precinct and into one of the cruisers parked outside. Lauren and Bo equally could see Acacia saying something, her face only slightly irritated, but all Lauren noticed was green eyes on her until they could not connect any longer as the car drove away and the door to the precinct closed, leaving the duo in the hell that was the room.

"Let's go home," Bo whispered, her hand tightening around Lauren's shoulder as she turned her.

"Lets."

* * *

Lauren's frantic movements around the coffee shop were only derived from her incessant thoughts. Her apron had spilt coffee on its white background, and her hair, instead of being up as it always was supposed to be, hung loosely to her side.

Who was Tamsin seeing in the hospital? Did Lauren somehow know her? No, that was stupid- the salt shaker that was used on the burgers and fries of the place was slammed harder onto the counter- not everything surrounded Lauren. Was Tamsin safe wherever she was at? How did they allow college students to be in such dangerous positions! The pie chart, showcasing every pie in delicious rating order, was the next thing to get thrown.

"We should be called a diner not a coffee shop!" Lauren said exasperated.

"I like coffee shop," an indignant voice sounded from the doorway.

Lauren almost jumped fifty feet in the air before turning.

"Whoa, whoa, are you planning to throw that at me," Tamsin laughed, her hands up in mock surrender.

Lauren blinked and looked down at the pie carving knife she must have picked up in fear. Blushing, her face falling into one of scrutiny, she slowly placed the knife back down onto the counter and quickly undid the knots of her apron.

"I'm the only one here!" she whined. "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that."

"It's not my fault the doorbell is broken," Tamsin pointed up to the indeed broken bell ringer and Lauren briefly wondered how something like that could get broken.

"Maybe it's out of batteries," she said idly. "I personally liked the real bells myself but- wait, is everything okay? What happened today?"

Tamsin put up her hand, ceasing Lauren's questions, and said, "Pie and coffee first. It's been a long day."

So Lauren scampered around back, picking up a freshly made pie that had been the last one baked- mostly because the cook always made one just for her before leaving- and back out of flapping doors to place the pie in front of Tamsin. Grabbing a cup from below the counter, and the coffee pot she had been cleaning the outside of, Lauren slowly poured the detective in training a cup.

"I love blueberry," Tamsin chimed as she raised her fork. Just before digging in, however, green orbs looked up into brown and she smiled. "Do you want to share?"

It made Lauren's heart sing. Nodding with a bold smile on her lips, the premed student pulled up the chair beside Tamsin, and plopped down with a fork. They both slowly dipped the prongs into the thin crusting, and both ate at the same time.

"Wow," Tamsin exclaimed, "that's really freaking good."

"Ronny always makes me one before closing," Lauren responded, pleased by the reaction. "Every day he makes a different flavor."

Tamsin's eyebrow raised in satisfaction and asked, "Is that an offer for a date every night?"

Lauren blushed again, and she tilted her head to the side as she pondered the question. "Maybe," she said playfully, the fork bobbing as she did so.

"Well if the days are going to be more like this one, I'd seriously like that."

The jolly mood, at least for Lauren, was put on hold as she thought of what the earlier part of the day held. After Bo had left her at her dorm room, the blonde had quickly gotten ready for her shift at the coffee shop, thankful she did not have any classes that day, and bolted off in the direction as Bo went to her Psychology 101 class. All of her time at Rita's Coffee Shop was spent unproductively, and Ronny was more than happy to get everyone out of the shop and leave Lauren there to clean up. He wasn't upset with her, everyone had a bad day once in awhile, and he had left her the pie as he always did to try to cheer her up. If she could help it, she'd rather spend her days not having to worry about Tamsin and if she'd come back alive or if there really was a murderer on campus.

"What happened to that girl?" Lauren whispered.

Tamsin side glanced the blonde and sighed. "She's breathing, awake, and in a lot of pain. The assailant stabbed her in the upper torso, almost knicked her heart, and she had a lot of internal bleeding. But if all goes well, she'll make a full recovery."

Lauren slowly breathed in, her eyes closing, as a crescent smile appeared on her lips. "That's good."

"Yeah," Tamsin agreed, nodding. "Too bad we still can't find the girl who was taken."

Just like that, Lauren's belly seemed to drop with ten ton weights and she felt like she was chewing boulders. "On the board in the precinct... Is that going to happen to the kidnapped girl?"

"...We don't know."

Silence descended over the shop as the two girls slowly ate the rest of the their pie. Tamsin's hot coffee turned lukewarm, then cold, as they sat there. Were they enjoying each others company or were they simply trying to come to grips with the helplessness pooling in their bellies? Instead of answering the question, Lauren looked at her phone as it vibrated and sighed.

Tamsin nodded her head towards the device and asked, "Who is it?"

"Just Ciara. I told her and Bo to text me when they got in the dorm. I haven't heard anything from my other friend all day though."

"They're probably just busy."

Lauren nodded. "Yeah, she does freelance photography. Sometimes she'll turn off her phone so she can get the really good pictures."

"So?"

"So, the thing is, she didn't have class today and she told me last night she didn't have any assignments. Sure, she could go out by herself, which she always does. But with what happened today..."

"What's your friends name?"

Lauren took a moment to answer, either it was because her attention was divided at rereading the text messages from her friend, or it was because she knew deep down if she told Tamsin the name, there would be a chance she would tell her that the poor girl was in the hospital, laying on the bed, bandages wrapped around her chest.

"Nadia," Lauren all but whispered.

And then her whole world came crashing down.


End file.
